Oxbridge offers for 11 hopeful GSAL pupils

Three students from the Wetherby area are among 11 current and former students from The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) who have their sights set on the Oxbridge experience next year.

From GSAL’s current upper sixth, nine students are holding conditional offers to study at Oxford or Cambridge, together with two former students who achieved three straight A* grades in last year’s A-levels.

Heading to Worcester College, Oxford, subject to their A-level grades this summer, are Rachel Marks, from Scarcroft, to read philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) and James Dahlgreen, from Clifford, to read geology. Ellie Burgin, from Collingham, is holding a conditional offer for English at Newnham College, Cambridge.

Rachel said: “The PPE course combines the subjects I’m interested in as well as offering many options within the course that will open up doors later. The application process was stressful but I decided to enjoy the experience rather than worry about whether I got in, so I was delighted to get the offer.”

Joining Rachel and James at Oxford will be Gemma Timmons, from Ilkley, who has an offer from Magdalen College to read PPE, and Disha Anand, from Leeds, to read law with French law at Brasenose College.

As well as Ellie, four current upper sixth students have conditional offers from Cambridge colleges. They are Emily Boggs, from Weston, for medicine at Jesus College, Caitlin Buckley, from Leeds, for psychology and behavioural sciences at Gonville and Caius, Fahd Omar, from Leeds, for economics at St John’s College and Katie-Lou White, from Garforth, for natural sciences at Emmanuel College.

In addition two students who left GSAL in 2015 have places at St Edmund Hall in Oxford; Abhijeet Oswal, from Leeds, to read economics and management and Tim Robinson, from Lindley, to read biochemistry.

GSAL has a dedicated Oxbridge coordinator to provide specialist advice and help on the application process.